tseeb
Well-known member
Heavenly 1/1/2017 After buying my wife an $89 buddy ticket (walk-up was $145), we got on the tram at 9:45 and skied short, crowded Patsy's to Powder Bowl chair. We skied to Canyon chair which we skied 6 times while also mixing in a couple of laps up busier and windier Sky chair. Our group enjoyed the nearly perfect groomers and Lakeviews while I skied firm bumps on lower Ellies, Ridge Bowl and lower Double Down 2/21 to get a little more challenge. At about noon we moved to NV, with my son, his friend and I finding excellent snow from high entrance in Milky Way Bowl while my wife took an easier route.
There was a big line for Dipper as not only was Comet closed but staff said it was done for the day with a mechanical problem. I later heard that after a 50 minute stoppage, there was a rope evacuation. We went into crowded lodge and had lunch while line went down a little. We also heard gondola, Sky and Tamarack were on wind-hold so to prevent getting stuck in NV, we rode Dipper once and skied back on CA trail then Maggie's Canyon which was good at the top. But snow ran out in gully so I led my wife on a traverse to Maggie's run that was a little too much for her first day of the season while also coming off a back problem. So I led her to top of tram which required downloading.
I went back up Powder Bowl finding singles line on crowded six-pack moved fast. The singles line on busy Canyon did not move as well so I only rode it once, skiing Ridge Bowl then cutting across to get into Mombo to ski Waterfall. Snow on shady, steep left side was excellent. I had to stop to rescue a young girl who was stuck on a steep firm mogul while her instructor and rest of her group waited 100 or more feet below. I repeated Waterfall two more times before quitting about 3 with 16.5K vertical (not counting the downloaded tram).
Kirkwood 1/2/2017
After packing, cleaning and shutting down cabin, we were on the road at 9:20. But even the shortcut that totally avoids US-50 going to Kirkwood was crowded. Then we had a 5 minute stop where Carson Pass gets steep so it was 10:50 before we arrived Kirkwood and it was after 11 before my wife and I loaded Timber Creek. I skied it with her twice before moving to Cornice which ran all day in winds of about 50 mph. Kirkwood only claimed 2" overnight and 3" during the day, but seemed deeper especially hear the top and high temps were in the low 20s. I followed guy I rode lift with into Oops and Poops, but lost him well before bottom. Next I skied trees between Sentinel and Jim's where snow was deep and untracked. Then I took a couple of runs into Palisades finding more untracked although hard surface was easy to reach on lower part.
After checking on dogs who were in my SUV, I met up with my son whose skis returned to Bay Area the previous night when he left them in friend's car after catching ride to cabin from Heavenly. He was on Atomic Vantage 100 waist demos that worked well for him in the new snow. We skied trees between Sentinel and Jim's where my tracks from earlier had filled in. We also took two runs into Palisades where after a few step-ups, then a gravity traverse, it was easy to find untracked and the hard surface was getting harder to reach on lower part.
My face was getting frozen so we moved to slow Reut chair where we took a couple of fun laps together. I returned to SUV via Cornice with about 17K and a lot of untracked, while he took a couple of more laps on Reut. I picked him up and the Village and we were on the road at 4 pm.
Today would be the day to be up there (and I had friends that could have brought me home), but I would not have wanted to stick my wife or son, who both had to go to work today and don't have any/much snow-driving experience, with drive home that included at least 10 cars off the road and snow to 3500'. At one place where three cars were in the ditch I rolled down my window to yell at the 5-6 people standing between their vehicle and the road to get out of there, My family thought I was being harsh until I explained that they could be crushed there if another car went off the road. It took us 2 hrs 15 min to go less than 60 miles from Kirkwood to Jackson.
There was a big line for Dipper as not only was Comet closed but staff said it was done for the day with a mechanical problem. I later heard that after a 50 minute stoppage, there was a rope evacuation. We went into crowded lodge and had lunch while line went down a little. We also heard gondola, Sky and Tamarack were on wind-hold so to prevent getting stuck in NV, we rode Dipper once and skied back on CA trail then Maggie's Canyon which was good at the top. But snow ran out in gully so I led my wife on a traverse to Maggie's run that was a little too much for her first day of the season while also coming off a back problem. So I led her to top of tram which required downloading.
I went back up Powder Bowl finding singles line on crowded six-pack moved fast. The singles line on busy Canyon did not move as well so I only rode it once, skiing Ridge Bowl then cutting across to get into Mombo to ski Waterfall. Snow on shady, steep left side was excellent. I had to stop to rescue a young girl who was stuck on a steep firm mogul while her instructor and rest of her group waited 100 or more feet below. I repeated Waterfall two more times before quitting about 3 with 16.5K vertical (not counting the downloaded tram).
Kirkwood 1/2/2017
After packing, cleaning and shutting down cabin, we were on the road at 9:20. But even the shortcut that totally avoids US-50 going to Kirkwood was crowded. Then we had a 5 minute stop where Carson Pass gets steep so it was 10:50 before we arrived Kirkwood and it was after 11 before my wife and I loaded Timber Creek. I skied it with her twice before moving to Cornice which ran all day in winds of about 50 mph. Kirkwood only claimed 2" overnight and 3" during the day, but seemed deeper especially hear the top and high temps were in the low 20s. I followed guy I rode lift with into Oops and Poops, but lost him well before bottom. Next I skied trees between Sentinel and Jim's where snow was deep and untracked. Then I took a couple of runs into Palisades finding more untracked although hard surface was easy to reach on lower part.
After checking on dogs who were in my SUV, I met up with my son whose skis returned to Bay Area the previous night when he left them in friend's car after catching ride to cabin from Heavenly. He was on Atomic Vantage 100 waist demos that worked well for him in the new snow. We skied trees between Sentinel and Jim's where my tracks from earlier had filled in. We also took two runs into Palisades where after a few step-ups, then a gravity traverse, it was easy to find untracked and the hard surface was getting harder to reach on lower part.
Today would be the day to be up there (and I had friends that could have brought me home), but I would not have wanted to stick my wife or son, who both had to go to work today and don't have any/much snow-driving experience, with drive home that included at least 10 cars off the road and snow to 3500'. At one place where three cars were in the ditch I rolled down my window to yell at the 5-6 people standing between their vehicle and the road to get out of there, My family thought I was being harsh until I explained that they could be crushed there if another car went off the road. It took us 2 hrs 15 min to go less than 60 miles from Kirkwood to Jackson.
